The Backpack Reviews

Reviews & Ratings Explained

90%

Rating

1812 Total Reviews

86%Value For Money

93%Security

90%Location

89%Staff

91%Atmosphere

94%Cleanliness

89%Facilities

The rating percentage is calculated from customers who booked within the last 12 months.

All ratings and reviews are based on the feedback and opinions of the customers who submitted them and do not express the opinions of Hostelworld.com. This way, you get an up-to-the-minute opinion of just how good a hostel really is. Read our review guidelines »

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97%

This hostel was amazing. The staff were great, the breakfast was great and the atmosphere was perfect. I would definitely recommend this hostel and stay here again when i come back to cape Town.

The hostel is very well located and the room was very nice. The breakfast was amazing! At least during my stay it didn't seem much of a party hostel and more of a relaxed hotel! The only problem is that the water in the shower takes forever to get warm enough... I ended up taking cold shower so I wouldn't waste so much water!

Staff was outstanding and extremely helpful. Breakfast was divine. Only disappointment was not receiving the 100 rand back for key deposit when i returned the key...and hearing no reply from the email I sent about it. Otherwise I highly recommend staying here.

Very nice hostel, staff really go out their way to do everything possible for you. Location is near a bunch of bars and restaurants but at night they recommend you get a taxi not walk anywhere. Very impressed with the hostel, lovely rooms!

Hi there and thank you for a lovely review on our hostel. We are so glad that you had a brilliant stay with us and explored the evening entertainment around the city. We hope you will come back and join us in the future. Kind Regards, The Backpack Team.

We are so chuffed to know that your stay was great and that the staff did what they could to make it even better! Kind Regards, The Backpack Team.

97%

Just get power down on the first night. The location is less convenient than I expected as every night I took R80 taxi back to hostel from V&A waterfront. It would be much better if the safe is inside the room, not between the living room and the kitchen. Activities can be booked in the tourist desk, quite convenient!!!!

Hi there, thanks for reviewing your stay with us. Unfortunately, the power outages are unpredictable but we have solar lamps installed around the hostel to keep things lit up. Perhaps the taxi to the V&A Waterfront every day ended up being expensive but you will find that we have many shopping, eating and clubbing options just one road down from our location - Kloof and Long Street. Safes have been installed into all our rooms now, as well as extra safes in the lounge. Kind Regards, The Backpack

89%

Very friendly staff, breakfast spread was one of the best I've seen in a hostel. All communal areas had a good feel to them, this is a really nice place to stay.

Thanks Rebecca for this great review please spread the word!
Kind regards
The Backpack Team

86%

It's was a great stay. They made a confusion with my reservartion but fix it upgrading my room. So in the everything worked well. I highly recommended the hostel and will definetely come back. The only sort of complain that I have is that maybe the wall are too thin, and sometimes some people were really noisy at night.

Thanks Alan so glad you had a fantastic time not too sure what you mean by a quiet hour? if you mean for our guests to be quieter late at night then we do have signs up for our guests to respect others that might be sleeping. There is always a person on duty if you feel you need to report it to someone.
We hope this wont deter you from coming back again and again and enjoying what we have to offer in the future.
Kind regards
The Backpack Team

86%

I loved this place so much that I decided to stay for 2 weeks, and I made some great friends along the way. I could go on and on about all the pluses of this place: the value, the comfort, the cleanliness, the terrific breakfasts, the worthy causes / community programs that they support. I would definitely come back to stay here again!

Hey Jason we want you to carry on about all the pluses too! Thank you for choosing to stay with us you have made a difference in our community programs and we look forward to your return.
Kind regards
The Backpack Team

97%

I had such a wonderful time at the hostel the staff are godsend, I was there in winter months and with tours cancelled I got to hangout by the fireplace with other travellers. Best hostelling experience i've ever had I will come back in summer months. The place is easy to book tours from to get around and meet other people to share travel experience with

Our fireplace is a godsend on cold mornings and evenings we love it too. Hope you managed to knit a few rows for our scarves we are making for Baphumelele Orphange. Do come back in summer you will not regret it for sure.
Kind regards
The Backpack Team

97%

Fantastic staff--kind, warm, and they'll help you out with anything. Great place. Don't change a thing!

I stayed at The Backpack for a week and I was impressed and really pleased that I stayed there. Although traveling alone, I stayed in a 4 bed female room. The room was quiet, extremely clean and completely secure. My experience with the staff was awesome! Everyone was so helpful with ANYTHING that I needed, which is great b/c I've stayed at other hostels where the staff is not very welcoming nor helpful. The breakfast was awesome, I was surprised that the time allotted was 3hrs! Great place!

We are so happy that you enjoyed your time with us and especially that you enjoyed our delicious free breakfast - they are proving a real hit. When the team is passionate about what they do then the experience all round for guest and staff is great. We love meeting all our guests they have so much to offer us.
The Backpack Team

94%

Great Hostel. I was pleased to stayed there. The room was very quiet and clean. Thes staffs were awesome. Everyone was so helpful with ANYTHING that I needed

Thanks Laura for giving us the thumbs up! We hope to see you back in Cape Town soon
Kind regards
The Backpack Team

51%

By far some of the rudest hostel staff I have ever come across, except for the guy working the bar the night I checked in, he was cool. Horrible communication before I arrived, I scheduled an airport pickup, they never showed. My friend was already there & they lied to her twice saying they would email me back & never did. Got an uber for half the price they would've charged so it worked out for the best, aside from the aggrevation. Wifi didn't work. Not enough showers. Moved to another hostel.